For this month's theme of Finger Foods, I decided to revise an old recipe that I got from Sheila, former secretary at my school. She brought this occasionally, and everyone loved it. The original version had full fat cream cheese and sour cream, and used a packet of Italian dressing mix, all things I didn't want to use. My version uses lowfat cream cheese, low-fat cottage cheese or sour cream, the same flavorings as Grandma's Vegetable Dip, and the lemon juice, shrimp, and peppers that were in Sheila's original recipe. I also bumped up the ratio of shrimp and red peppers in the dip, making it more nutritious. I don't use fat-free cream cheese or fat-free cottage cheese because they usually contain sugar, but if you wanted to make this even lower in fat, you could make that change.

Some of you might be wondering about a dip that has shrimp and claims to be heart healthy. There was a time when doctors recommended avoiding shrimp if you were concerned about cholesterol, but now it's considered a healthy food. I ate my dip with celery and bell pepper strips, both of which are also considered to be some of The World's Healthiest Foods.

Heart-Healthy Shrimp Dip served with Veggie Dippers
(Recipe makes about 5 cups, at least 8-10 servings or more, created by Kalyn with inspiration from Sheila and Grandma's Vegetable Dip.)

Let shrimp thaw overnight in refrigerator, then drain well. If they seem wet, I wrap them in a paper towel and squeeze out as much moisture as I can.

If using low-fat cottage cheese, put into food processor with steel blade and process until it is creamy and has the consistency of sour cream. (If using sour cream, just add with other ingredients.) Add cream cheese, lemon juice, dill weed, and Bon Appetit or celery salt, and blend together. Remove from food processor and put into mixing bowl.

Stir in chopped green onion and chopped bell pepper, then gently fold in shrimp. Chill dip for about an hour before serving for best flavor. Serve with celery sticks and red, green, yellow, or orange bell pepper strips. Other vegetable dippers could also be used.

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Really good to have all the reasons why we don't have to worry about eating shrimp. And great recipe, I'd never have thought about it, JUST what I was hoping for when we decided to start Heart of the Matter - a whole lot of completely new ideas. Thanks, Kalyn!

Sandy, thanks for the support. I do prefer to make the muffins every week and not freeze them, but I never noticed it made them rubbery. I think that might be too long in the microwave. They don't reheat well from the frozen state; thaw in the fridge first. (Or do what I try to do and make fresh every week, even better.)

Hi Kalyn, I'm also a teacher and love checking in on your food site every day. If you ever have the time, would you tell you your organize and keep all your recipes so you can find what you want? Do you keep them in one of those recipe boxes or on your computer?Nyla

Hi Nyla,Fun hearing from a fellow teacher. Believe me, not all my recipes are organized, but I like saving them on del.icio.us. Here's a link to my del.icio.us page if you want to see what that's like. Rather than saving bookmarks, I mostly save recipes I find online to that page.

Nyla, back again. Don't know if you'll see this, but maybe someone will. Here is post from Blogher by my friend Elise from Simply Recipes that gives very good instructions about How to Make a Del.icio.us Cookbook.

This dip was absolutely delicious! You have been a true inspiration to me. I have been on the South Beach diet for 2 weeks and have lost 6 pounds. I check your site almost daily. Your recipes are great and so are you!!! Thank you for all the inspiration.

I can't believe how such a simple recipe can be so amazingly tasty. My boys and I have been dipping this with sugar snap peapods, bok choy bottoms and red bell peppers (a bit redundant because of the red peppers in the dip itself). A friend was just diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and I sent her your site so she can ENJOY food while getting her sugar and weight under control. Thanks!

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

I've recently changed my comment settings so people can comment without signing in, but you will need to check the box to show you're a live person, and comments on older posts won't show up until I publish them. Thanks for understanding!

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